Seven Days
by 206
Summary: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 5 FINALE with my own speculation . She has seven days to say something to stop him. One-shot. BB with Parker appearance. Second chapter added.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: MAJOR SEASON FINALE SPOILERS - another speculation piece. Brennan may be slightly OOC but I think if she and Booth make it through the rest of the season with having emotional breakdowns it will be a miracle for them :p. Enjoy!**

Brennan sat at her desk in her office staring blankly at the bookshelf opposite her. Hodgins' words were floating in her head as the soundtrack to Booth's pained expression when she told him that she was leaving for a year.

"Hey Bones." Booth said, trying to sound happy but failing.

"Hi Booth." They looked at each other for a minute. So much had happened in the last couple months.

"Um…do you want to go grab something to eat at the diner?" Booth asked.

"You normally don't ask, usually you just drag me out of here." Brennan stated.

"Ya…well I don't know if you have to finish packing or something." Booth put his hands in his pockets.

"Listen I have something important to tell you." He said seriously, moving over to her couch and sitting down before turning to face her. Brennan thought he was going to ask her to stay. She was going to stay, after her talk with Hodgins she decided to stay. She felt a thrill that she would finally be able to tell Booth something he wanted to hear.

"…They want me to go back to train new snipers for a year." Brennan's brain froze, he was leaving?

"What?"

"That Army Bones, I'm going back. I doubt I'll be there for a full year but six months at the least."

"Why?" Brennan was trying and somehow managing to keep a calm façade.

"They need me."

"But you aren't a sniper anymore Booth."

"It's the army Bones. They can call you back whenever they want. I gave them that right when I took my pledge." Booth was standing now. "And it doesn't matter if I go or not Bones, you're not gonna be here anyway." Brennan was silent. She knew she had to tell him that she had changed her mind and the look Booth was giving her hear, she knew him well enough to know he was pleading with her to say something so that he wouldn't leave.

"When are you supposed to leave?" She asked instead. She noticed that his jaw clenched before he answered.

"I report for duty in seven days." Brennan nodded, not sure what to do with the information.

"What happened to us Bones?" Booth asked, coming to stand next to her a few minutes later.

"Our partnership was dissolved." Brennan said.

"I didn't mean that. I meant us, you and me."

"You told me you loved me. I wasn't ready to hear it. You dated Dr. Klein, I dated Andrew. Then there was the grave-digger trial and now we are going our separate ways." Brennan answered concisely; she refused to look at him as she could feel the tears filling her eyes.

"Are we going to come back?" Booth asked.

"I don't know." She sighed.

"I think I'm gonna go home." Booth said. He was gone before she could say anything else.

7 Days

Brennan had gone home but was unable to do anything productive. She had choked when trying to order Chinese take-out and was trying to figure out why she had not told Booth that she had changed her mind. Turning off her cell phone and unplugging her home phone she got into bed. Why was she letting him leave?

6 Days

For once Brennan had no inclination or desire to go to the lab and was thankful that it was Saturday. Booth had Parker today and she wondered what he would tell Parker about his leaving. Why was he leaving Parker? Keeping her phones off and unplugged she began to clean her apartment. At the end of the day she turned on her cell phone to check for messages. One missed call from Booth and one follow up text: Why are you hiding? She felt the tears creep into her eyes again and angrily blinked them away.

5 Days

Sunday she was back at the lab trying to decide if she should change her plans again and go on the dig. Booth had said that he would probably not be gone for a full year and she wanted to be here when he got back. Why? He was the one leaving.

4 Days

She had not heard from Booth the day before and it looked like she wouldn't hear from him today either. It was four o'clock. Brennan was talking with Angela and Cam, both of whom kept trying to bring Booth up, when Parker walked into the lab with her father.

"Parker? What are you doing here? Are you okay? Is your father okay?" She looked at Max for an explanation when Parker didn't answer right away.

"Parker called me and asked if I could help him. He told his mother that I was giving him help with some science homework."

"Bones you have to make my dad stay." Parker blurted out suddenly. Everyone in the lab turned in interest.

"Parker, I can't make your dad stay if he wants to go." Brennan said, even though she hated to lie.

"He doesn't really want to go. You can make him stay Bones. He'll listen to you if you tell him not to go."

"Parker."

"I told you that working together was a stupid reason for not being my dad's girlfriend but he said that you guys aren't partners anymore so you can be his girlfriend now." Brennan was speechless, and embarrassed. Everyone in the lab was listening.  
"Please Bones, you can make him stay. My dad told me once that sometimes you can't do something by yourself and you need to ask someone you trust for help. I need your help to make him stay.  
"I…I can't Parker."

3 Days

He was leaving in two days. She hadn't heard from him the day before and had broken his son's heart too. She felt horrible.

2 Days

He was leaving tomorrow. Eight am. He called to say good-bye. She could still ask him to stay.

Leaving Day

Booth woke up at five to make sure he had everything ready. He was checking his phone every two minutes hoping she would call. At 7:50 he sighed, she wasn't going to call. He opened the door to leave.

Brennan had not slept all night; she had lost count of the number of times she had picked up her phone to call him. Finally at seven she had gotten out of bed and driven to his place. She stood outside his door for what felt like hours. Suddenly it flew over and there he was standing in his uniform; medals displayed on his chest.

"Booth…" Brennan breathed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Due to popular demand, I wrote a resolution. The first part was written before I saw the 100th episode and the second part was written after so there are spoilers for the 100th episode (which is absolutely amazing and heart-crushing). Hope you enjoy :)**

"Bones…" Booth breathed back.

Booth stood on the threshold of his door unable to think of something to say or do. He was in shock that she was standing there; after all when he had called to say good-bye yesterday she had simply told him to have a safe trip.

"I…" Brennan attempted but she had no idea what to say. She felt her throat closing up with all the anxiety she was feeling.

"I have to get going Bones." Booth said sadly almost ten minutes later. This spurred Brennan into action.

"No!"

"No?" Booth raised an eyebrow as he picked up his suitcase, but he made no attempt to get past her.

"Please. Please don't leave Booth." Brennan said, she felt as though she could not catch her breath.

"Why should I stay?" Booth asked, looking directly into her eyes.

"I…Parker. You have to stay for Parker Booth. He needs you, you're his father." Brennan said quickly.

"I've explained everything to Parker Bones. He'll be okay for a couple months without me."

"No he won't. He came to see me the other day and asked me to help him get you to stay because he doesn't want you to leave."

"I know he doesn't want me to leave. But I think I need a little time away." Booth lowered his gaze and finally attempted to leave his apartment.

"I don't want you to leave." Brennan blurted out in panic as he tried to get past her.

"Bones you're not even going to be here." It came out slightly harsher than he intended but he could not bring himself to care. He was hurt that she would abandon him, abandon them for a year without even consulting with him first and yet he knew that he should not be angry; it would help him move on if she wasn't there.

"I'm not leaving. I changed my mind." Brennan said quietly. Booth put his suitcase down.

"What?"

"I decided not to go on the dig."

"Why not? You love ancient remains and you had no problems about leaving before." Booth subconsciously brought himself to his full and intimidating height.

"That was before."

"Bones, you are never this vague, usually I have to try to make you cut down on the details." Booth said wearily; he just wanted a straight answer.

"I had a conversation with Hodgins and I changed my mind."

"Hodgins changed your mind." Booth was confused and getting irritated. Hodgins was a good friend to her he knew, but he did feel a pang of pain that he had failed and Hodgins had succeeded. It was solidifying his intentions of leaving. Brennan knew she had to explain everything, it was time she stopped being so afraid to live her life the way she wanted, it was time to allow herself to be happy.

"Hodgins came and told me that I had hurt you. And I know I hurt you Booth, and I apologize for hurting you. I was just so scared that it would end. I'm no good at this Booth, you know that." Brennan sighed before starting again, Booth was a patient man but she could see that his patience was wearing thin at the moment.

"It was a mistake for us to stay partners after I asked you to give us a try." Booth said angrily, she wasn't sure if he was angry with her or himself, or both. Brennan couldn't say anything, it was all her fault.

"I tried moving on Bones." Booth's voice wavered with emotion as it had done that night two months ago. "I tried moving on, but it's so hard when I'm around you all the time and I just want you."

"I know." Her voice came out small and choked.

"Bones, if I leave it will give me a chance to move on." Booth caught her eye and held it, he couldn't believe he was gambling her a third time. Maybe he still had a problem.

"Don't leave Booth. Please." Brennan knew she sounded desperate and vulnerable but the only thing she could care about at the moment was Booth. He was offering himself again. Booth looked at her intensely. She could see the tears start to pool, another flashback to that night. She didn't want to hurt him anymore.

"I told you that I wanted to protect you from me. Obviously, I haven't done that. I'm a scientist Booth, but I've come to realize that scientists and gamblers have something in common. What you call risk, I call test. Right now I just have a bunch of hypotheses, I can't know if they are true or false without testing them."

"Are you saying you're willing to give us a try?" Booth asked, the hope in his voice was evident even to her. She nodded. Booth wasted no time in pulling her close and kissing her. Brennan's hand rested on his chest but this time she made no attempt to push him away.


End file.
